Lawyers have again raised the alarm over the persistent non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s judgment on local government autonomy, stating that it poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s constitutional order, democracy, and the rule of law.
Saturday Telegraph re-calls that in a 2024 decision in a suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation against the Attorney General of Abia State & 35 others, the Supreme Court ruled that allocations to local governments must be paid directly to them not via state joint accounts, and struck down the use of unelected caretaker committees.
Yet, more than a year later, many state governments have failed to fully implement the decision. Speaking on this, an Abuja-based Lawyer, Babatunde Omidiji, noted that, “One year after the judgment, reports showed that the said judgment is not obeyed.
This is a very dangerous signal to our growing democracy. “What we are experiencing is outright rebellion against the Constitution. No governor should have the audacity to disobey the Supreme Court. “Civil society organisations, traditional rulers, and communities should hold their state governments accountable.
“Disobedience to court orders is the first step toward anarchy. Any governor who refuses to obey the Supreme Court should face constitutional sanctions, including impeachment by state legislatures.”
Another Lawyer, Dr. James Anozie, noted that “disobeying the order of the Apex court on Local Government autonomy is dangerous. “Section 287 (1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that the decisions of the Supreme Court shall be enforced by in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons and by courts of subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Supreme Court.
“Even if the Supreme Court was wrong in its interpretation of section 162 dealing with the State Joint Local Government Account, the judgment re- mains binding on all and for all times. “It is only an amendment of the Constitution under Section 9 thereof that can override the decision.
No person or authority can decide, whimsically and arbitrarily, to disobey the judgment or pick and choose what portions of the judgment to obey or which to discard.
